From the Big Easy to Norwich

NORWICH – You’d think that after surviving the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, a little upstate New York wintry weather would be a piece of cake. Even so, Irvin Mayfield’s not sure what he’s in for this weekend in Chenango County. Speaking from his native Louisiana on Monday, the founder of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra reported that “it’s 60 and sunny here right now. I know you people do winter big up there in New York.”

Mayfield will bring his acclaimed jazz ensemble to Norwich Sunday for a 5 p.m. performance at the Chenango County Council of the Arts titled, “Home for the Holidays.”

The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra Inc. was incorporated in December 2002 by founder and artistic director Mayfield, the Grammy nominated, Billboard Award winning trumpeter and composer and the officially appointed “Cultural Ambassador” for the City of New Orleans. The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) is a spirited, swinging, band steeped in the tradition of New Orleans jazz, blues, swing and spirituals. NOJO performs and presents educational programs that draw upon the rich musical and cultural traditions of New Orleans and is the premier major performing and presenting jazz institution based in post-Katrina New Orleans.